Fire Escape
by LockmanCapulet
Summary: Nothing like an untimely fire alarm to interrupt your late-night cramming for midterms. Forced out in the cold with all her neighbors, Levy makes a connection with someone sharing a random act of kindness. One-shot, modern AU


_Just another half-hour. Then I'll go to bed,_ Levy thought for the third time since midnight. She yawned, stretched, and got back to her books. She had her biochemistry midterm at Fiore University the next day—that is, later that afternoon—and she was determined to ace it. It was her lowest grade and she needed to do everything she could to pull it up, hence the mountain of books and notes piled on the coffee table in her shared two-bedroom apartment.

Levy reached for her coffee mug and raised it to her lips. _So when the host cells take on the viral DNA sequence… _It occurred to her mid-sip that there was no coffee left in her mug. Glancing at the nearby kitchen counter, she found the pot empty too. _I'm running on fumes here, _the student mused. _It would take too long to brew another pot. Maybe I should go ahead and get some—_

A sudden alarm made Levy jump. Realizing that the fire alarm was going off, she groaned and stood up. _So much for that. Natsu probably burned something in his oven again... _Knowing she had to get outside quickly (or the superintendent would get upset and probably raise her rent), she slipped on a pair of flip-flops and grabbed her essentials—keys, phone, wallet, biochem book… roommate?

"Lucy." Levy rolled her eyes and went to wake her roommate. She pounded on Lucy's door. "Hey. Lucy. You up? Fire alarm. We gotta clear out."

A groggy moan could be heard from inside the room. "Yeah, yeah, I'm comin'…" After a moment of shuffling around, Lucy opened the door, wrapped with a blanket and holding her phone and keys.

Levy cocked an eyebrow. "Are you dressed?"

Lucy opened her blanket, revealing her tank top and flannel pajama pants. "Ta-da," she said flatly.

"Alright, let's go. The sooner we get out, the sooner we can come back in…"

The girls made their way to the stairs and headed down to the lobby of their apartment building, exiting through the front door to the half-empty parking lot. Levy looked back at the building, identifying the third-story window of her and Lucy's apartment. Under the light of the moon, she could faintly make out a light cloud of smoke coming from a fifth-story window. _Of course. Natsu's apartment. At least it's on the top floor…_ _Speaking of whom, where is the pyromaniac?_ Levy looked around, spotting Natsu standing with Lucy, with Natsu's roommate Gray sitting nearby wearing nothing but a towel around his waist (which, frighteningly, was not too strange). The couple was sharing the blanket Lucy had brought. Levy chuckled. "Pfft. Those two."

Thinking of the blanket made Levy realize just how cold it was outside. It was mid-October, the time of year when Magnolia would be pleasantly warm during the day but could plummet to the mid-forties at night. Levy shivered and looked down at her t-shirt, running shorts, and flip flops. She wished she had grabbed a jacket before dashing out.

_Whatever. May as well make use of the time. It'll be fifteen minutes at least before we can go back in,_ she thought, plopping down on the curb and opening her book. She picked up where she had left off back in her room and was making some form of progress for a few minutes until the cold finally got the better of her. Unable to focus, she closed her book and huddled up as tightly as she could.

Out of nowhere, Levy felt something _flop_ onto her back. Realizing it was a fleece blanket, she looked up expecting to see Lucy or Natsu, but instead met eyes with a rather tall, muscular man in a wife-beater and boxer shorts standing behind her. "Ya cold, Shrimp?" he asked gruffly.

Levy was too flabbergasted to respond. After a moment of stunned silence, she shot to her feet and turned to face—that is, look up at—the stranger. "Wh-who are you calling '_Shrimp'_?!" she demanded.

In response, the man waved his hand from the top of his head to the empty space high above hers. "Whatever," Levy pouted. "It's still rude. Pointing stuff like that out _and_ calling people names."

"What, ain'tcha heard of nicknames before? I'm just bein' friendly," the man said with a big, toothy grin. "And, if I'm not mistaken, it's also rude to not acknowledge when someone lends you their blanket on a cold night."

Realizing that he had her there, Levy pulled the blanket tighter around herself. "Thank you," she said. "Really, I mean it. Sorry about that, you just… caught me off guard, is all."

The man's smug grin turned into a smaller, genuinely warm one, much to Levy's surprise. She couldn't help but think that he was quite handsome, despite the numerous studs and piercings he possessed. "Name's Gajeel. Gajeel Redfox," he said, sitting down on the curb.

"…Levy McGarden," she replied, sitting down next to him.

"Noticed that book you have there. You a student?" he asked, thumbing at the biochemistry textbook. In her arms.

"Yeah," she answered, looking down at the book. "I was up studying until the alarm went off. Midterms are a killer. Sometimes I wonder why I'm majoring in pre-med," she chuckled.

She looked up to see Gajeel giving her an inquisitive look. "What?" she asked.

"You're… in college?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Yes I'm in college! I just turned twenty, thank you very much! A sophomore! What, did you think I was in high school?!"

"I would have guessed senior," he replied defensively.

She maintained her irked stare. "I suppose that's not as bad… wait, so you gave me this blanket thinking I was that young?" She gave him a grossed-out sneer.

It took a moment for Gajeel to register what she meant. He laughed heartily and replied, "Don't worry, Shrimp. I ain't a pedophile. First off, I wouldn't exactly call doing a neighbor a favor 'hitting on you.'" Levy blushed at the notion of being hit on, causing Gajeel to laugh again. "And second, I'm only a year older than that anyway."

Levy stared blankly at him. "…so you're, what, eighteen? Nineteen?"

"Nineteen. Graduated May before last," he replied proudly, grinning and pointing a thumb to himself.

Levy blinked. "Oh, so are you-" She was interrupted by a loud _meow_ing. A black cat with white fur on its lower jaw and belly had walked up to Gajeel. Hearing its call, Gajeel began scratching it on the head "Aw, it's Santa!" Levy said cheerfully.

Gajeel turned to her inquisitively. "…_Santa?_"

Levy pointed to the cat. "He's a stray I've seen around here a lot. I call him Santa Claws! You know, because he has a white beard, and…" She waved her hand in a clawing motion.

Gajeel and "Santa Claws" stared at her blankly. "No offense, but that's probably one of the worst cat names I've ever heard," Gajeel said. "And he's not a stray—he's mine," he continued, pulling his wallet out of his pocket (_What kind of boxer shorts have pockets? _Levy wondered). He took a picture out of it and handed it to Levy. "His name's Pantherlily. I got him when he was a kitten. My sister named 'im, not really sure what it's supposed to mean. He hates being cooped up so I let him stay outside. He's smart, so he stays nearby."

Levy stared at the picture. It was clearly from years before, as it showed Gajeel as a little kid, holding a kitten Pantherlily and grinning from ear to ear. When Levy looked back up, Gajeel was holding Pantherlily, making the same pose and face. She laughed as she handed back the picture. "A tough-looking guy like you with a cute photo of you and your cat in your wallet. Not the kind of person you meet every day." she said teasingly.

Gajeel looked away half-embarrassedly, half-sheepishly. "…I like cats, okay?" He set down Pantherlily, who immediately walked up to Levy and rubbed his head on her leg. Levy picked him up, set him in her lap, and began stroking his back.

The fire department had arrived by now and was preparing to do a sweep of the building. "So what were you asking before Mr. Claws joined us?" Gajeel asked, leaning back and resting his hands on the sidewalk behind him.

Laughing, Levy replied, "I was going to ask if you're in college."

"Ah." Gajeel yawned. "Nah, I'm not. I've been doing maintenance at the local animal hospital—you know the one at the intersection of Vermillion and Dreyar?—and picking up other work here and there. My sister's at Fiore Uni so I'm helping her out however I can." He turned to Levy. "You know, now that I think of it… she's taking some bio-whatever class. You know a girl named Juvia? Long blue hair, a bit eccentric, speaks in third person for no reason?"

The third detail confirmed it for Levy. "Oh, yeah! Juvia Lockser. I can't believe I've never seen her around the complex! She's a sophomore too, right? And she's one of the TAs. The extra review sessions she puts on are really helpful… wait a minute." Levy looked Gajeel in the eye. "You said she's your sister. Why isn't her last name Redfox? Is she… married?" she asked apprehensively.

"Pfft! Nah way." Gajeel chuckled, then looked at the ground. "I call her my sister but we're not actually related. She and I are both foster kids. When I first got in the system, I was about ten, and I… had trouble getting along with the other kids my age, all the younger kids were scared'a me, and most of the older kids ignored me. Except Juvia." Looking up at the moon, Gajeel continued. "She was always kind to me and took care of me. Even convinced our caretakers at the foster home to let me keep 'Lily after I found him near the home. Since she was three years older than me, when she turned eighteen and got out in the world, she became my legal guardian."

"So young? Is that allowed?" Levy asked.

"She pulled some strings with the caretakers."

"Wow. You guys are really close, huh?"

"Yeah. And once the ink dried, she started renting this place for both of us. I was finishing up high school and she wanted me to go to college, so I worked odd jobs part-time and she waitressed until I graduated." Gajeel paused and laughed, making a strange _gihihi_ sound. "Oh, you should have seen her reaction when I told her I wanted her to go to college instead!" He wiped one eye and continued. "We must have argued for hours. But in the end I convinced her that I wasn't ready yet, and that with all she had done for me, she should get the opportunity first. And I didn't tell her this, but… I honestly think she has better chances than me in life. I ain't gonna amount to anything. She's on her way to bein' a scientist or something. Heck, I bet she'll cure cancer. Juvia's amazing."

Levy set down Pantherlily, who was getting antsy, and watched him prance away, probably to wherever it was he slept. "You have quite a story," she remarked after a moment of heavy silence. "Do you make a habit of sharing your life details with random strangers?"

Gajeel chuckled and thought for a moment. "Nah, it's just… you seem like the right person to tell it to." He nudged Levy in the side. "So whaddaya say? Story for a story? I bet yours it pretty interesting."

Levy blushed a bit and looked at the ground. "Oh, no, I… I don't have much of a story at all."

Gajeel gave a grunt of disappointment. "Shrimp, if there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that everyone has a story."

Before Levy could reply, her and Gajeel's attention was diverted by commotion near the entrance to the apartment complex. A firefighter had just come out of the building and was announcing over a megaphone that the problem was taken care of and everyone was clear to go back inside. Gajeel stood up and offered Levy a hand to get to her feet, which she accepted.

As the two walked back to the building, Levy said, "Well, it was nice meeting you, Gajeel. Oh, here's your blanket." She took the blanket off her shoulders and handed it to Gajeel, who slung it over one shoulder unceremoniously as they entered the building. Levy continued, "So, I… guess I'll have to give you a rain check on that story."

Laughing, Gajeel patted her on the shoulder and said, "I'll hold you to that! See ya around. And good luck on that test of yours." He gave her a goofy two-fingered salute and headed off toward his apartment.

Levy giggled at his gesture and made her way back to her own room, bumping into Lucy on the stairs. "So, who was that guy you were talking to out there?" Lucy asked slyly.

Levy turned red. "J-just a nice neighbor who loaned me his blanket. I, uh, know his sister from university."

As the girls entered their apartment, Lucy gave Levy a _yeah, sure_ kind of look and disappeared into her own room. Levy sighed. _Alright, I really need to get some sleep now._

With that thought, she made her way to bed.

* * *

Levy finished answering the final question, dashed to the front of the room, and slammed her test booklet on the teacher's podium all within a few seconds of the bell ringing to signal the end of both the class and the testing period. She triumphantly made her way back to her seat to collect her belongings, exiting the class amidst the throng of fellow students—some worried about their scores, some glad it was over, and all thoroughly exhausted, Levy notwithstanding.

A familiar voice snapped the girl from her caffeine-deprived stupor. "Oi, Shrimp!"

Levy stopped in her tracks and turned to find Gajeel waiting just outside the classroom. He smirked at her. "How'd it go?"

Levy was too dumbfounded and tired to answer immediately. "Wha—yeah, it did—how are you—?"

Gajeel laughed. "My sister is a TA in this class, remember? We established this already."

Levy chuckled, unsure how to reply. "So… what are you doing here? Picking Juvia up?"

Looking away, Gajeel scratched the back of his head. "Oh, um, I was thinking… uh, could I cash that rain check now? Maybe… over a cup of coffee?"

Levy was at a loss for words. "…you know what? …I could probably use a little caffeine right now," she answered with a giggle.

Gajeel grinned from ear to ear. He gestured toward the nearest door. "Shall we?"

As the two walked off, Gajeel added, "I've been lookin' forward to your story."

Levy smiled at him. "You know something? I really loved hearing your story last night… and I can't wait to return the favor."

She had a funny feeling this would make a great story one day too.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!**


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